Alexis Bledel: Gilmore Girl No More

Alexis grew up in a Spanish-speaking household and didn't learn English until she began school. (Her mother grew up in Mexico and her father is from Argentina.) Though she is a mix of Danish, French, German, Scottish and English ancestry, she considers herself Latino. Alexis has a younger brother, Eric David Bledel.

When she eight, her parents encouraged Alexis to act in community theater to help with her shyness. Subsequently, she starred in productions of "The Wizard of Oz" and "Aladdin." While going to Saint Agnes Academy in Houston, a talent scout discovered Alexis and by the age of 14, during summer breaks, she was going to New York and cities abroad to work as a catalog model.

After graduating high school, she enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of Arts to study writing and directing. And though she appeared in Seventeen modeling prom dresses, her big break came during her debut on the television series "Gilmore Girls" portraying Rory Gilmore. She said, "I thought maybe it would be some extra money. I didn't know anything about how television works. I surely didn't know it was going to be six, seven years of my life! I should've done research" (crushable.com).

Alexis Bledel later said, "I am not a good talker in real life unless I know someone really well, and I'm not chatty in any way, which is confusing for people when I meet them for the first time, because they always think I'll have all these amazing things to say, and I usually don't. I always feel like I'm disappointing people, but I'm very internal; I process a lot in my mind, and then I don't really communicate much of it unless I feel I like I have something valuable to say" (vulture.com).

Other roles followed, including her film debut "Tuck Everlasting," "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," "Sin City," "I'm Reed Fish," "Post Grad," "The Good Guy," "The Conspirator" and "Mad Men," among others.

When asked how she avoided the pitfalls of fame, Alexis Bledel said, "Fatigue. I was working so many hours on that show.there wasn't much clubbing going on" (popeater.com).

Alexis Bledel has said on 'bad boys:' "They draw you in despite the fact that they can be jerks some of the time" (askmen.com). She told Seventeen, "I was pretty shy so I think I was doing things to ensure [boys] did not notice me."

Alexis Bledel volunteers for First Book, a national youth literary program, and she enjoys reading, writing and photography.